20 Worst Things About iOS 11

I agree to the fact that Apple has brought some really great features with iOS 11. But at the same time, there are a few features that have been left out. So, from my personal point of view, there are a few things that Apple has got wrong with the latest iOS update.

Here is a list of all the features that have been left out by Apple. Also, this list contains a few things that I have been waiting for 3-4 years now but they have still not been included.

3D Touch is no more

In iOS 10, if you did a 3D touch on the bottom left corner of your iPhone’s screen, it would have let you switch you between apps. And if you pressed a bit longer, it used to open App Switcher.

But with the launch of iOS 11, this feature has been removed intentionally. Though it has been removed considering that its working will be a bit odd on iPhone X, what about the other iPhone models?

Let’s see if something comes up in iOS 11 updates.

App Store Wish List is no more

If you have previously added any apps to the wish list in iOS 10, forget it. I might sound too harsh but Wish List feature has been removed in iOS 11. In iOS 11, neither will you be able to access this list nor will you be able to add new apps to this list. And with iTunes 12.7, this feature is completely gone. So, either you have to downgrade your iOS or the iTunes application.

Check the attached screenshots to get more clarity on this.

Wishlist option as available in iOS 10. It is no more available in iOS 11.

Third Party Apps in Control Center: Not Anymore

Though the redesigned Control Center looks a bit improvised, the reality is completely different. Though it lets you add other tools such as Notes & Screen Recording among the others, but they are only limited to the apps developed by Apple.

As an end user, I will love to have more control over my Control Center. To start with, the ability to add third-party apps will definitely do wonder to how I use the phone. If so happens, looking for a word in my phone’s dictionary or searching for a password in a password manager will be a one-tap thing.

Since this is just the start of iOS 11, there is a possibility that Apple might open it for third-party developers as well.

Control Center in iOS 11

Control Center Settings in iOS 11

No Options for Changing Control Center Icons Quickly

In iOS 10, Today view for widgets has an Edit button. There is a requirement of such button in the Control Center of iOS 11 as well. If there is an option available to edit the Control Center icons, one would not have to go to Settings always. Changing icons would be just one-tap away.

Let’s hope that this comes in the upcoming updates as well.

Confusing Connectivity Controls

By Connectivity Controls, I mean Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controls. In iOS 10, if you tapped on a connectivity icon,

Bluetooth icon: it would first disconnect the device and then turn off the Bluetooth.

Wi-Fi icon: it would first disconnect from the network and turn off the Wi-Fi.

While in iOS 11, if you tap once on the button,

Bluetooth icon: it only disconnects the device.

Wi-Fi icon: it only disconnects from the network.

Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Buttons in iOS 11

Auto-Brightness Setting is not so easy to find

Since Apple has buried the Auto Brightness setting too deeper, it should be available somewhere it is easier to find. For example, a shortcut button to enable Auto-Brightness directly from the Control Center.

As of now, there is nothing on the Control Center to enable or disable Auto Brightness mode. Let’s see what Apple does in regards to this in upcoming updates.

Notification Center Problems

Well, here are a few questions that I have in my mind after using iOS 11 for a while:

When I pull down on the Notification screen, why does it look like it is a cover for the lock screen?

Why are notifications being displayed party while swiping down?

Can I not close the Notification Screen with some lock screen control? Why is it mandatory that I have to press the Home button?

Notification on Lock Screen in iOS 11

So, these are a few questions that Apple should definitely answer to in the upcoming updates. As notifications play an important part in User Experience, I hope Apple with come up with something solid.

Increasing or Decreasing Volume is still a problem

In iOS 10, whenever you played a video from anywhere on your iPhone, the video will start with a big volume HUD icon at the center of your phone’s screen.

iOS 11 has done in regards to the Volume HUD icon. The icon still pops up when you play any video from the Photos app. Though this problem has been solved to an extent while playing videos on Safari browser.

The new update i.e. iOS 11, Safari comes with an inbuilt video player, hence, no video ICON while playing videos in Safari at least,

Video HUD Element

No Group Video Chats in FaceTime

This was something that almost all the iPhone users expected from iOS 11. But this feature is absent in the FaceTime app. With all the VOIP service providers like Hangouts by Google, Messenger by Facebook, Skype, etc. are moving onto adding group-calling features, it should have been imperative for Apple to follow the same suit as well.

Let’s hope that Apple is working on this so that we do not need third-party apps to fill the void. The reason I am emphasizing on this point is this scenario:

Wouldn’t it be amazing to start a group FaceTime chat right from your group in iMessage application?

Big Title Fonts

By big, I really mean big. They are just massive. Just in case you are not able to concur, remember the Music app in iOS 10. Remember how Library and other such options were big and bold?

Well, with the launch of iOS 11, the font size has been made common across all the apps. If you have not noticed till now, check these screenshots.

Bold Fonts in iOS 11

Bold Fonts in iOS 11

Bold Fonts in iOS 11

Rating Songs is way more difficult!

Though Apple is promoting Apple Music extensively, it has not been able to include reaction buttons in its apps. It feels like what User Likes is a secondary thing for Apple as there are no shortcut buttons for liking, disliking, or rating a song in a user’s playlist.

More importantly, these options are not even available your own Music Library.

In iOS 11, when you have to rate a song, this is what you have to go through:

Open the Music App.

Slide the Now Playing option.

Tap on the ellipsis icon.

To rate a song, you have to now tap on Rate this Song.

Though you can use Siri to do so, will you use Siri while you are working out?

So, if you are a frequent user of the Music app, have you ever felt a need of having a direct button to rate or like a song?

Music App in iOS 11

Rating a Song in iOS 11

Song Ratings are also not visible

Once you have rated a song and then play it sometime later, the rating is not visible. Now when you see in the Now Playing screen, there will be nothing related to the rating. Considering that iPods are not in much use, there should be definitely something to replace its features.

No Way to Toggle Off the Flashlight from Lock Screen

Well, this is not something new. Even in iOS 11, Apple has not added a one-tap button for turning off flashlight directly from lock screen. What you can do is to simply keep the control center open and then turn it off. Otherwise, switch on the flashlight and then turn if off once you are done from the Control Center.

Deleting Mails: Still not so easy

I will not write much on this. Every user who has signed in on the Mails app knows how difficult it is to actually delete an email.

You can not unhide hidden apps anymore!

Apple added a way to hide purchased apps in iOS 11. While at the same time, they made it impossible to unhide those hidden apps.

Even in iOS 10, you can not actually hide app purchases from the App Store. The only way to do so was using iTunes. But there is a tricky part:

Apple has removed all internal connections of the App Store in the all-new iTunes 12.7.

Hence, you can not use this to unhide apps on your iPhone anymore.

Screenshots preview cannot be disabled!

Apple effortlessly improved the screenshot feature in iOS 11. The screenshot tool has some really cool features. But let’s talk about the screenshot preview?

Why do I need to see a preview every time I take a screenshot? Apple should at least add some way to disable this feature so that a user can turn it on or off depending on the use. At times when you are multi-tasking, the preview feature can get really irritating.

All you can do is dismiss the screenshots immediately. There is no option to entirely disable the preview.

Screenshot Preview in iOS 11

Night Shift: Less Convenient

This is an option I compulsorily use every time before going to sleep. In iOS 10, there was an option where you can enable Night Shift by just a gesture.

While in iOS 11, the two-gesture shortcut is now a three-gesture one. I do not understand why Apple hid it behind the brightness slider. There should have been an independent and single icon for Night Shift.

Night Shift Option in iOS 10

Control Center in iOS 11

Even Non-animated GIFs show up in Animated Tab!

Earlier, in iOS 10, even the animated GIFs in the Photos app were displayed as non-animated. With the launch of iOS 11, Apple finally added the support for GIFs. There is even an album created for GIFs.

Even if a GIF is not animated, it will show up in Animated folder. So, there is no special tech behind it. It just scans GIF extension and separates it.

No Live Fish Wallpapers!

In iOS 10, there was a range of wallpapers available. Apple has removed all fish-related live wallpapers in iOS 11. There has been no statement on this, they just removed it. Now, users are only left with 3 options to choose from.

Live Wallpapers in iOS 10

Live Wallpapers in iOS 11

New Media Formats: Not so compatible!

This should not be a long-term problem. At present, Apple’s new audio and video format are not supported by many devices. For example, if you record a video on your phone and send it to someone else, there is 100% chance that the receiver will be only able to listen the audio. Due to file format and the codec used by Apple, the video will not play on his phone.

Talking about the photos, Apple stores them in HEIF format. They are available in PNG or JPEG format but codec becomes a problem here again.

So, these were a few things that I feel might annoy a user. These things are not something big, even the smallest of details matter while we are talking about User Experience. Also, The above-mentioned views completely belong to the author. In addition, the author does not intend to harm or insult any brand or any person’s opinions and views.